Yes, we have no bacon today!

Better head down to Voodoo Doughnuts for that bacon doughnut now, because there's a bacon shortage being predicted for next year. A Chicago Tribune business story cited a Bloomberg report that the pig supply is dropping to record lows. The Tribune says:

Blame the drought conditions that blazed through the corn and soybean crop this year. Less feed led to herds declining across the European Union “at a significant rate,” according to the National Pig Assn. in Britain.

And the trend “is being mirrored around the world,” according to a release (hat tip to the Financial Times)

…

In U.S. warehouses, pork supply soared to a record last month, rising 31% to 580.8 million pounds at the end of August from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The surge came as farmers scaled down their herds as feeding the animals became increasingly expensive.

That's right, high feed prices mean that young pigs are being killed now and not saved for later bacon. (We will let the question of whether the pigs are being honored and apologized to before being slaughtered slide for another occaision. Bacon, like chicken is part of the circle of life, right?)

Bloomberg reports in a story headlined "Pig Slaughter Shrinks Supply to 1975 Low in Drought":

U.S. hog farmers are slaughtering animals at the fastest pace since 2009 as a surge in feed costs spurs the biggest losses in 14 years, signaling smaller herds next year and a rebound in pork prices